Peng Mu looked at him, not relaxing at all after that explanation. "You’re dressed like him."

Shen Qiang glanced down at his clothes, feeling that he understood a bit better what might have happened here. He was wearing the official robe of the Chun Feng Sect. If the woman this man talked about was the demon that senior martial brother Liu had eliminated, then senior martial brother Liu was precisely the person this man had described as crazy and was likely afraid of. In that case, getting anything out of this man would be difficult.

He kept quiet for a moment but still didn’t give up. He couldn’t do so. Not if he had to suspect that there were still other demons around. Anyway, it was still worth a try t keep talking to him and get to the bottom of this matter. "That is the robe of my sect."

Peng Mu seemed to get even more vigilant but Shen Qiang wasn’t worried. He still believed that being honest would get the best results. In the end, the Chun Feng Sect was only helping people. Most likely, this man just wasn’t clear yet about the situation because senior martial brother Liu hadn’t had time to explain himself when time was of the essence. Thus this man was now worried to see somebody who was related to him. After they had a talk, this worry could be solved though.

"I guess that the person who came by before was one of my martial brothers. Did he explain to you, why he came here?"

Peng Mu didn’t quite know how to react. It had barely been a week since that man had killed Yawen. He had been unable to forget that moment. He still remembered clearly how that blade struck her, how her blood flowed, and she closed her eyes forever. That last look she gave him … he would never be able to forget it.

Shen Qiang saw his expression and couldn’t help but feel stuck. Just what was he supposed to do now? He hesitated for a moment but finally decided to try it in another way. "The woman you spoke of … was she your wife?"

Peng Mu tensed even more at that but this time, he at least spoke up. "No." He only clarified that fact brusquely but then kept mum again.

Shen Qiang nodded. "But you must have been very close to her if this affects you so much."

Peng Mu looked down, once again not speaking up. How close they had been … Now that she was gone, he wanted to talk about that even less.

Shen Qiang also fell quiet. He could see that this man was pained very much. "I can see that you loved her very much."

Peng Mu raised his gaze, his brows wrinkling slightly. He didn’t understand what this man wanted from him. Yawen was already dead and she had died in such a vicious manner. He hadn’t been able to protect her and now he wasn’t able to give her justice either. Having to talk about it … it made him feel even worse.

He shook his head at Shen Qiang and turned away, not bothering about him at all. "What’s the use of saying that? She is dead now. And she will never know."

"Ah." Shen Qiang followed him out of the courtyard, his expression thoughtful. It seemed that while the two of them had been close, it hadn’t been as close as he originally assumed. Well, with demons, it was only ever an unrequited love, even if the people involved with them thought differently. Although … he wouldn’t tell him that. Even if the person he had loved was a demon, there were some things that didn’t need to be said aloud. It would just taint the precious memory this person held. That wasn’t what he wanted.

After following him down the road, Shen Qiang cleared his throat. "Actually, I am sure that she knew. It is obvious to me that you love her even though I’ve only met you just now and you barely said a sentence. Since you’ve spent time with her, she was certainly aware."

Peng Mu stopped in his tracks and glanced at Shen Qiang, a bit of doubt in his eyes. "You … Why are you saying this? Don’t you want to tell me that she was an evil creature that needed to be killed?"

Shen Qiang sighed. "Even if I said that you wouldn’t believe me. Anyway, what she was changes nothing about your feelings. You loved her sincerely. How could I look down on that?"

Peng Mu looked away, his eyes tearing up. When he went back to the field and told the others what had happened, they had all behaved as if he was lucky to not have gotten closer to her. When he wanted to bury her, they had said that he was nuts and shouldn’t bother about it, that taking care of such an evil creature’s matter would only bring him bad luck. Not once had any of the people he had known for years and regarded as his friends tried to see his side. Yes, even if she was evil, he had loved her. Even knowing that she might have been a demon changed nothing about that.

Seeing that Shen Qiang was open to really talk about this, he turned to glance at him. "Yawen … Was she … Was she really a demon?"

Shen Qiang looked at him and then sighed, raising his gaze to the sky. "I haven’t seen her so it would be irresponsible of me to say that it was so for sure. But I do trust in my senior martial brother. He wouldn’t carelessly kill. If he took her life, then only because he was sure that she was a demon and a danger to others."

Peng Mu shook his head. "I knew her. She never would have done that."

Shen Qiang nodded at that. He fully believed that this man would never be able to see that side of her. "How about we go and do what you came out for and after that, we return so we can have a talk? Maybe there is a way to make sense of all this for you."

Peng Mu looked at him, unsure at first but in the end, he nodded. Anyway, she was dead and there was nobody else he could talk to that would give her the benefit of the doubt. Just this once … just this once, he wanted to give it a try.